


Lost

by VarjoRuusu



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Cute, Fluffy, M/M, One Shot, so very fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 16:09:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9615440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VarjoRuusu/pseuds/VarjoRuusu
Summary: From the prompt: "Maybe if we walk in a straight line we’ll find a city or something" as found on Tumblr.Josh and Sam get lost in the remote(ish) woods of Vermont, Josh has a panic attack and Toby wins a bet.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Oh man, bring the ridiculous.

“Seriously, this is worse than the time in Indiana!” Josh groaned, pushing yet another branch that wanted to poke his eye out away so he could advance another six inches through the trees. Behind him Sam sniggered silently to himself, enjoying listening to Josh complain. 

“Are you laughing at me?” Josh demanded, turning around.

“No,” Sam said, immediately straight faced. 

“You are, you're laughing at me,” Josh grumbled. 

“I'm not.”

“You're stuck out here too, you know,” Josh pointed out and Sam shrugged. 

“Ah, but the difference between you and me is I went camping as a child,” Sam chuckled.

“I went camping.” Sam was silent until Josh relented. “Ok, I went to a three day scout trip to DC. We camped in one of the parks for one night, it was part of the 'experience of getting away from your parents.'”

“You were in the boy scouts?” Sam asked, trying not to laugh.

“I never got the membership pin, I left about four days in,” Josh said, ducking under another tree. “I was eight.”

“Too woodsy for you?”

“Shut up, Sam.”

“You know,” Sam said, digging his hands a little deeper into his pockets. “This really isn't my fault.”

“I didn't say it was. It's Toby's fault.”

“How do you figure?”

“Because he sent us out here in the middle of nowhere and I know he told the car to abandon us while we talked to Mr and Mrs Pruitt,” Josh practically shouted. “This is payback for that thing with the thing last month.”

“You mean when you said that his draft of the president's speech on the economic policies of Peru sounded like it was written by a sixth grader?”

“Yes! That!”

Sam laughed, shaking his head. “Well, maybe you should have been a little nicer?” he asked and Josh rounded on him.

“You know what, Sam, we're stuck in the middle of nowhere in...what state are we even in?”

“Vermont.”

“Vermont! In the woods, no idea where we're going and it's getting dark, in case you didn't notice.”

Sam shrugged again. “At least I'm here with you.”

“That's...not the most cheery thing I can think of right now, to be honest with you.”

“Lighten up, Josh, we'll be fine,” Sam grinned, bumping his shoulder against Josh's 

“Yeah, maybe if we walk in a straight line we’ll find a city or something,” Josh grumbled. 

“Does Vermont have cities?”

“Sam!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Sam laughed, holding up his hands. “It's just too much fun, Josh, I'm sorry.”

“You're going to start taking this seriously when the sun goes down and the temperature drops and we freeze to death.”

“It's June...”

“...Shut up.”

“Josh,” Sam chuckled, pulling one hand from his pocket and reaching for the nervous fist Josh was clenching. “We're fine, just calm down.”

Josh paused for a minute when Sam's hand touched his and his back stiffened. He took a deep breath and tried to relax, he really did. All he managed was to unclench his fist and let Sam take his hand properly.

“I don't like this, Sam, I really don't like being out here...away from civilization,” Josh muttered. 

“I know,” Sam said quietly, leaning his side against Josh as he squeezed his hand. “We'll be ok, Josh, it's fine.”

“You know, I'm going to be really happy when you're the president and we're constantly surrounded by a goon squad equipped with GPS trackers and satellite phones,” Josh complained. 

“You really think I can be president?” Sam asked, pausing. Josh stopped at the tug on his hand and turned, looking at Sam in the evening light. Sam was smiling softly but his eyes showed his disbelief, like he thought that Josh was just messing with him. 

“Sam...of course I do, come on.”

“No, really, Josh, I mean if you're just kidding, it's fine. I can take it,” Sam chuckled.

“Come here,” Josh said, rolling his eyes and tugging on Sam's hand and drawing the other man closer so they stood just two inches apart. “You remember the first time we met?”

“You were drunk, weren't you? Losing at pool, if I remember correctly, right before you-”

“Ok, Sam, you know what I meant,” Josh interrupted before Sam go to the part that was really embarrassing about the evening. 

“Yeah I know,” Sam smiled softly. “I remember the look on your face when you first saw me, it was like the whole world had stopped in its tracks and you didn't know up from down.”

“That's cus the whole world had stopped in its tracks and I didn't know up from down. All I knew is I was looking at someone who radiated this presence, this strength, I knew I was looking at one of the best people I would ever know and I knew I was looking at a future leader, a future president.”

“Josh, we were in law school. I was twenty three,” Sam chuckled. 

“Doesn't matter. I knew it anyway,” Josh breathed and Sam shook his head, moving forward just enough so their foreheads were leaning together and let his eyes drift shut. 

“So do you want to be my chief of staff or my vice president?” Sam asked softly. 

“I was actually thinking about...what would even call it...first gentleman of the United States.”

Sam's head jerked back and he met Josh's eyes, his own wide with shock. “Josh, did you just...did you just propose to me?” he asked. Josh shrugged. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” Josh said, feeling his cheeks turning pink and it wasn't from the brisk evening breeze that had started blowing as the sun vanished behind the horizon. 

“You guess so...” Sam said and Josh rolled his eyes. 

“Come on, can we get back to civilization and then talk about this?” he asked, turning away and tugging on Sam's hand. Sam didn't move and Josh's momentum snapped him back like a rubber band so that he was nose to nose with Sam.

“Don't you want my answer?”

“Well...I dunno, I guess it depends on the answer,” Josh said quietly. Sam just shook his head before he leaned forward to capture Josh's lips with his own, his arm wrapping around the other man's waist and drawing him closer.

“What do you think my answer is?” Sam whispered as he drew back a little.

“Yes?” Josh ventured, his voice hopeful.

“It was never going to be anything else, Josh,” Sam said sweetly. “Come on, lets go. I see a light that way, it could be a road or something,” he said, indicating slightly to the right of the direction he'd been traveling. 

After maybe another ten minutes of walking they made their way onto the road and about a hundred yards down they came to the light, which was a gas station teeming with local police, secret service, a few white house staffers, and CJ and Toby.

“There you two are, finally. We've had half the state out looking for you for hours,” Toby groused, his voice exasperated as he shone a flashlight at Josh and Sam as they approached the circle of light. The flashlight beam pausing at their joined hands. “Got something you want to tell us?” he asked.

Josh and Sam looked at each other and Sam shrugged. Josh nodded.

“We're getting married,” Josh said, turning to watch Toby's face. Toby stood still for almost a whole minute, his brain ticking almost audibly. Finally he turned around and shouted over his shoulder.

“CJ! Pay up!”

**Author's Note:**

> This is set what I would guess is c. the time Santos is about to be elected (late 2006) with the general assumption that he will only serve one term and after him, Sam will be president. This turned out to be established, so we'll just say Sam and Josh have been quietly dating on and off for something like 10-15 years or whatever.


End file.
